Raymond Arsenault on Life and Business: Eighties Icon: 1981 DMC De Lorean brochure

Images are from the brochure collection of the author

Few cars are as strongly identified with the 1980s as is the stainless steel-skinned sports car from the De Lorean Motor Company. This Giugiaro-styled two-seater had a turbulent, short production run, and yet, its popularity remains high as ever, 35 years on, to the point that it will soon re-enter production in limited numbers. The DMC De Lorean -note, the production model was never called “De Lorean DMC-12!”- was only built for three model years (1981-’83), and just shy of 9,000 left the Dunmurry factory in Northern Irleand before John Z. DeLorean‘s eponymous company collapsed. This brochure, dating back to the car’s launch, is filled with the promise of a bright, shiny metallic future where beautiful people encounter this stylish wedge in various upscale and impressive settings.

Some of the photos even show the De Lorean’s famous “gullwing” doors in action!

This brochure was a gift from the car-collecting owner of a Buick dealership in Michigan; I’d noticed he had an original DMC dealership sign sitting behind a De Lorean parked in his warehouse, and asked about them. He told me how he’d agreed to purchase a franchise before the production De Lorean was even revealed, and how he’d lost some money on the venture- but time had softened his perspective, and he was fond of the car, which had fewer than 500 miles showing on the odometer. That was a memorable interview, and this souvenir, a gift that I’ll always appreciate.

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge.